Egypt has announced the discovery of another “corridor” inside the pyramid of Cheops, the largest, oldest and most iconic of the three pyramids of Giza in Cairo. For the scientific community, this is the publication of two studies that specify the exact dimensions, location and shape of the hitherto mysterious empty space “Sp-Nfc” identified in 2016. But, with a wink to the general public, according to the Egyptian archaeologist-star Zahi Hawass it could be the road that leads to the pharaoh’s tomb and therefore represent “the discovery of the century”.
The announcement was made at a press conference held under a big top at the foot of the 139-metre tall, oldest but best-preserved of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is therefore confirmed that behind the main entrance of the great pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) there is another “corridor”, a tunnel 9 meters long, 2.10 wide and 2.3 high. It is unfinished and is characterized by monoliths that form a sloping ceiling: “the last time it was seen was 4,500 years ago,” said Hany Helal, the coordinator and manager of the ScanPyramids project that made the discovery, stressing that those released today are the first images of the mysterious chamber.
The cavity on the north side of the great pyramid was filmed by a Japanese probe, a sort of “endoscope introduced through a few millimeters slit. Don’t ask me why this corridor is here», Helal said, fueling the mystery after Hawass had however foreseen that «it will lead to the revelation of other secrets». «We believe that something is hidden underneath», said the former Egyptian antiquities minister formulating his own opinion: «the tomb of Cheops should be under that tunnel and I think the one just announced (…) could be the most important discovery of the century”.
The editors of a popular video explained that the “inverted V” shape of the corridor ceiling, known as the “chevron technique”, was introduced for the first time in the Cheops pyramid and serves to protect “large rooms from the considerable weight above »: in short, a discharge of strength to protect what, according to Hawass, would be the tomb of the pharaoh of the fourth dynasty. The research project, which has been underway for eight years, aims to study the pyramids of the Old Kingdom using non-invasive techniques such as “muon radiography” which in 2016 detected the “ScanPyramids North Face Corridor” (Sp-Nfc) of which now characteristics have been specified.